George Lucas isn’t getting any younger, one of many factors that likely played a role in his decision to sell Lucasfilm Ltd. to The Walt Disney Company for a combined cash and 400 million shares worth of Disney stock purchase price totaling $4.05 billion.
Under the deal, Disney will acquire all operations under the Lucasfilm Ltd. umbrella. This includes the video game arm LucasArts that is currently working on the ambitious Star Wars 1313 project, visual effects house Industrial Light & Magic, and the sound mixing studios of Skywalker Sound.
The big coup in the deal and only real valuation Disney paid attention to is the Star Wars brand. Disney is so bullish on the strength of Star Wars and demand for it moving forward that they simultaneously announced Star Wars: Episode 7 will be released in 2015 with episodes 8 and 9 to follow at approximate 2 to 3 year intervals. When those are done, more Star Wars films will continue to come out at the same interval assuming the new trilogy turns a profit.
Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm and oversee the new Star Wars films. George Lucas will remain employeed as a “creative consultant,” though it is important to note that he is not the one developing the new stories, writing the new scripts or directing the new films. George Lucas is finally doing what fans have been clamoring for: turning over the keys to his kingdom. In doing so his original vision for 9 Star Wars films is becoming a reality.
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” Lucas is quoted as saying in today’s official press release. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime.”
Disney is now poised to enjoy a record-breaking box office in the summer of 2015. Joss Whedon and Marvel’s The Avengers 2 is already locked into a May 1, 2015 release date. Star Wars: Episode 7 could fall into the franchise’s traditional mid-May slot, or be positioned to conquer the July 4th holiday weekend.
For now Lucasfilm and its various operations will continue forward with business as usual. The Clone Wars television series will remain in production, as will Star Wars 1313. Who knows? Maybe Indiana Jones 5 will get a kick in the butt now that Disney is pulling the strings. I don’t expect Disney to sit on the Indiana Jones brand and do absolutely nothing with it.
Disney Chairman and CEO Rovert A. Iger told investors that work on Star Wars: Episode 7 is in the early stages of development. He also mentioned that Disney is looking at expanding Star Wars into television in the future, an intriguing idea considering George Lucas and his team scripted several seasons worth of a live-action television series concept set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope that never moved forward due to cost concerns.
We’ll have some more insight into the big Lucasfilm purchase by The Walt Disney Company and how it might impact several lingering Lucasfilm brands and ideas tomorrow.
